


Two of the Strings, in Unison

by JamieBenn



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 22:19:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18583723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamieBenn/pseuds/JamieBenn
Summary: Queen (Brian, John, Roger) are trying to record their final album (1995), and are filled with emotions regarding their fallen band member. They all deal with their emotions in different ways.





	1. The Song is Ours

**Author's Note:**

> I can't stress this enough that this is post-Freddie's death, and hence deals with a lot of raw emotion for the characters. However, if you would still like to read it; please enjoy.

Brian tuned his guitar strings slowly, turning the pegs before plucking two of the strings in unison to make sure the intervals were perfect. The strings rang out in the classic tone that he was used to, but as the sound echoed off the walls, Brian knew that the tears were about to fall from his tear ducts. The recording studio just wasn’t the same without Freddie. The three of them could try and record but there was always that void, whether it be in conversation, in song, or in their movements. When they stood with arms linked it just didn’t feel like enough, any more.

A tear dripped onto the gold-plated low E string before falling into his hand. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to record when he was filled with this much raw emotion. However, Roger was sitting at his drum kit, not a single tear in his eye. How the other drummer could be so strong during these times was beyond Brian. Although, it was quite easy to imagine that beating the living shit out of a set of drums could satiate even the most emotional of people.

They started with a warm-up rendition of one of their first songs. One full of instruments and emotion. It was easy to pull and press the strings correctly in Liar, but it wasn’t easy to stop the flow of tears that spilled down his face.

By the end of the warm-up song, Brian knew that John was crying too, the song wasn’t by any means mellow, but the fact that where Freddie would have joined them, there was nothing but silence- filled all three of the remaining Queen members with dread.

Roger sat staunch-faced on the drum stool, the final hits of his drum sticks not coming out of focus but out of pure muscle memory. They were all weary and worse for wear. It was clear that they wouldn’t get any good recording done that day.

It wasn’t long before they would all go out to lunch, but John would slip off into a small nook, likely to read about an odd new endeavour in the realm of electricity. This left Brian and Roger alone, hovering over their sandwiches like two elderly ladies that weren’t sure they would be able to fit the last two mouthfuls in.

“Mother Love, right…” Brian began, “I think I’d like to finish the vocal recordings? Do you think-“

Roger coughed, looking right into Brian’s eyes, both men’s faces puffy and tired. “The song is ours, but mostly it was yours, and Freddie’s. It would only be right.”

Brian nodded, clutching his hands together in a nervous grip. It was easy for another tear to roll down his cheek. It seemed that he just couldn’t stop it these days.

“I think we should call it a day, Brian. You and John should come around for dinner tonight. My suite has got excellent cooking facilities and I would love to make you a good pasta dish.”

At least waiting until dinner time for the boys to come over would give him a little bit of time to cry alone, he supposed. He had a date with a Sony Walkman and a tape of Freddie Mercury solo goodness before he would be able to socialise again.


	2. Stella Artois

Roger whipped up a delightful looking tomato pasta. Vegetarian for Brian, but still a good hearty dish that they could all enjoy. He found some fun but smooth Jazz to play on the record player whilst they sat at the dinner table, but it had taken him some time to pick. He didn’t want to pick anything that would be too reminiscent of the man that they had all come to love – nothing that would invoke too many tears.

The three of them sipped on one of their favourites- Stella Artois lager, swallowing carefully as to not break the kind of awkward silence that the room had succumb to after their forks had started meeting their mouths.

John carefully twirled the long pasta strands among the tines of the fork, focusing carefully on the practice as to avoid all eye contact with his band mates.

“I’ve missed you two. It is nice to hear you both play again. Your grooves, John. The way your basslines make people move their hips. You’re brilliant. And Brian- its art! The way you control your guitar so readily, your fingers dancing along the fretboard. I say I can play guitar but I could never have your sound in a million years. You’re both visionaries – amazing friends. I’m so glad I am here with you.” Roger smiled a little. His plate was empty as he was waiting for his friends to finish their food too and get a word in.

John popped his fork down. “You know, it is true, Roger. That I’m emotional. I love playing with the two of you, but this place, this practice… it all reminds me of Freddie. The short time that we practiced today was enough to fill my body and my soul with emotions I’ve never wanted to have. I don’t know if I will be able to continue if every time I record it is like this.”

Brian and Roger both nodded. They both felt it, too. But neither of them knew what they would do without the life of Queen music within them. It had been three whole years, and if any of them ever let their old, pre-queen selves see the light of day, they both feared that that would be it. They would never get to enjoy the feeling of being on stage, of playing their beloved instruments, of their fans screaming their names and clapping to their drum beats, they’d never experience those things ever again.

“But you’ll finish this album? The last of Freddie’s work? You’ll help us, Deacy?”

“I will. But for tonight, I need to rest my tired, puffy eyes. We have a lot of recording to do tomorrow.” He smiled, and the youngest of them quickly waved his goodbyes before exiting Roger’s suite in the direction of his own.

Brian was worried that this would display as his queue to leave. He didn’t want to. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to be alone right now. He looked over at Roger, who returned his gaze with a look of recognition.

“Let’s go sit on the balcony, yeah Bri?”


	3. Killer Queen

They weren’t near any large city, so the stars were relatively bright in the sky. Brian couldn’t make out any interplanetary dust particles in the sky, but he could make out Ursa Minor in the rather clear night sky.

Roger sat next to him with a big grin on his face, “I know you studied space back at Imperial College, Brian- that you’ve always loved it. Do you think you will go back one day? That you might finish you PhD?”

Brian shook his head. “Could you imagine me trying to make it as an academic after being in Queen for so many years? I’m not sure I could enter a conference without someone stomping out the beat to We Will Rock You.”

“How about discovery? I wish I could name a star after Freddie. I could imagine him watching us, enjoying the drama unfolding beneath him.” Roger smiled, as he imagined Freddie partying through whatever afterlife he may be a part of.

“I think Freddie would be more like an asteroid. He is too chaotic to be a simple star bound by the rules of one solar system. Don’t stop him, I guess.” Brian chuckled. He could write thousands of songs about how brilliant of a man Freddie was. He supposed it likely wasn’t healthy to keep his head stuck in the past, however. Perhaps he should focus on the man that was in front of him. The relationships around him that still had the opportunity to blossom. The friends that he could still make, and the impressions that he got place into people’s hearts.

He grinned at the stars above him, because, if one of them was Freddie, he knew that he would be enjoying this right now. Two of his best friends, close together, and they would be for a long time. Brian and Roger were never going to quit celebrating through music, whether it be celebrating the world around them, the people they used to know, or the feelings they were having. They didn’t have any of Moet de Chandon but as the amber liquid of the Stella Artois slowly seeped into their bloodstreams, they were getting closer and closer to being who they were destined to be.

No caviar for Brian, plenty of cigarettes for Roger, but all in all, plenty of heartbeats and a few shooting stars above – in the sky.

Brian grinned as he imagined joining the dots of the bright stars in the sky to form the faces of himself and his band members. They always said “who wants to live forever” but they always failed to believe that remnants of themselves would always live on in the world around them. As legends, as lovers, and most importantly, as friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Thanks for reading my first Queen fic. I'd like to thank Luc, who knows who they are and what they have done (but also apologies for how little of your prompt made it into the fic). 
> 
> Please let me know what you think.
> 
> I hope to get some more cheerful fic out to you all soon, but don't bet on it.


End file.
